GM is shutting down its Maven car sharing business, US media reports said.

GM spokesman Stuart Fowle told CNBC the decision was partially due to the coronavirus pandemic but also the business itself which was not thought to be profitable.

The automaker announced Maven as a "personal mobility brand" in January 2016.

"GM is at the forefront of redefining the future of personal mobility," said GM president Dan Ammann at the time.

"With the launch of our car-sharing service through Maven, the strategic alliance with ride sharing company Lyft, and building on our decades of leadership in vehicle connectivity through OnStar, we are uniquely positioned to provide the high level of personalised mobility services our customers expect today and in the future."

The brand quickly expanded by city and into Canada and added alliances but GM confirmed to CNBC that the operations were expected to cease by this summer after it communicated the plans to Maven's 230,000 users.

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The company had suspended operations earlier in the year due to Covid-19.

"We took the suspension period to critically look at our business and have made the tough decision to transition our resources, capabilities, and technology to other GM businesses where there is greater potential for profit and growth," the GM spokesman wrote in an email to CNBC.

After rapidly expanding operations, including the addition of peer-to-peer sharing of vehicles and as a fleet to Uber and Lyft, the programme's prominence faded. GM ended service in several major markets last year, CNBC noted.

Maven assets and resources will be transferred to the GM Global Innovation organisation, which will use them to develop "new fleet services" and "mobility solutions", CNBC said.

Maven had roughly 45 employees and contractors in the US and Canada. GM expects "most employees will have new opportunities within the company", Fowle told CNBC.